Permanent Memory
by crystal-mist
Summary: Erza Scarlet or better known as the Titania is well known for her emotionless façade… But unbeknownst to the guild members Jellal Fernandes still has a hold on her armour-clad heart And Gray Fullbuster has a hard time acknowledging this.


**This is my 14****th**** story ever and my very first Fairy Tail fanfiction…I hope you like it…Please enjoy reading. This is a one shot by the way. Erza x Jellal.**

**Summary- Erza Scarlet or better known as the Titania is well known for her emotionless façade… But unbeknownst to the guild members Jellal Fernandes still has a hold on her armour-clad heart And Gray Fullbuster has a hard time acknowledging this.**

**Permanent Memory**

**crystal-mist**

Erza Scarlet is was and will remain the strongest and most feisty warrior of Fairy Tail. Her courage and bravery was know to all, And people don't dare to cross paths with the armour wizard fearing her sudden outbursts.

The only people who even dared to speak to her were her old friends from the tower of heaven and the present 'strongest team in Fairy Tail- team Natsu'.

She found it disturbing that people called the team 'Team Natsu' instead of 'Team Erza' but not enough to actually voice her opinion.

She was perhaps the most hostile woman to have been born.

She sighed as she hugged her knees to her chest. She closed her eyes and briefly listened to the echoing sound of the chirping birds… A faint smile appeared on her face as more tears streamed down her face. Her scarlet hair flew gracefully in the wind as the red-haired warrior princess cried all alone.

_**Flashback**_**.**

_Two little children were sitting on the surface of the ground. Dust flew as the winds blew past them. The children were looking at the bright blue sky above._

_The boy blue hair; almost as blue as the sky overhead. He also had a grin plastered on his face._

_The girl had fiery red hair; she sat there__,__ quietly observing the guy with the red tattoo on his face._

_She then stood up and raised both her hands to the sky; reaching up to the heavens beyond…_

"_What're you doing Erza?" asked the little boy._

"_Just reaching for the sky."_

"_You know…When Granpa Rob told us to reach for the sky I'm sure he meant it figuratively…" he stated with a confused smile__._

_She only smiled at him. "I know that silly…But still I do wish sometimes."_

_Jellal was quiet as he studied the little girl's happy face…Two little birds landed on the ground and were chirping in a very lively manner._

_Jellal was about to frighten them off when Erza took hold of his shackled hands with her own. "No…Leave them be Jellal."_

"_If you say so." He said pouting and sitting down._

"_Now don't be angry." She said flashing her bright smile and poking his face with her index finger… He blushed a bit._

_Just then the birds flew away and Jellal's face gleamed with a sudden happiness. He stood up once again and pointed to the sky and to the birds that were flying._

"_Erza…We will be like that one day…" he said looking at the birds. "We will fly away freely and with no restrictions- you and I… We will be free and away from this wretched slavery… Erza I promise you, we will soar very high that we **will **reach the sky. Definitely" he said in his childish yet very serious voice. She looked at him wide-eyed…It took a little while for her to process everything…Then she smiled widely._

"_Yes…I agree." She said as a smile almost as happy as his reflected on her face… "We will soar higher than the sun."_

_Jellal paused and looked at her…His face then settled into a very warm smile as he took hold of her hand and entwined her little finger with his… "Pinky Promise….'Higher than the sun'."_

"_Okay… Pinky promise."_

_That day she made a promise to herself as well; she promised that if she were to ever be free again she would set her heart solely for her savior-Jellal. She was young and naïve but she felt like she really meant that promise._

_**End Flashback**_

Who would have guessed that things would go so horribly wrong and that she would be alive and free **without** Jellal by her side? Fate was cruel and destiny was merciless.

And being the most intimidating at Fairy Tail she was forced to conceal her feeling and sadness.

She looked at the flying birds as more tears ran down her eyes.

Unbeknownst to her Gray was standing with his back to a tree. He was watching her as she cried silently.

It hurt him; it hurt him that she was still not over Jellal. It pained him to think that Erza had and will continue to lament for **him**.

Who was **he** to her? Did she love Jellal. Was **he** so important to her?

'_He has no right to have her heart.'_ thought Gray as he clenched his fists in rage.

**Gray's Point Of View. [more like Gray's thoughts]**

Jellal….That freak of a person. He is the reason for Erza's present condition….but in spite of that, why does she continue to weep for him?…She had been crying because of Jellal for 8 years now, and is that still not enough? What more does that guy want?

I continued to look at her face as she brought her hand to the sky and slowly clasped at the setting sun.

_Erza…You shouldn't be suffering like this….Jellal, he has no right to possess you heart._

But then, considering the facts even I myself have no right to her heart.

Back then; during the war at the Tower Of Heaven I had been in a boat with Lucy and the others while Erza suffered inside the tower.

I couldn't come to her aid when she needed me the most. I couldn't help her when she was crumbling from the inside….I couldn't help her get rid of her misery.

All I did was sit in the boat and wish for her to be safe. I should have done something…I should've been in the tower protecting her.

In the end Natsu saved her….

But truthfully; in the end it was Jellal who saved her; not me.

In spite of the monster he had become Jellal still expressed his feelings for Erza and he had sacrificed himself for her sake.

And what exactly had I done? NOTHING. I did nothing to help her or to save her from the clutches of peril.

Even in every day life Jellal still exerted his importance in Erza's life while I am inconsequential to her.

And now just watching her I can see how much Jellal means to her. I hate him….In fact I think this is nothing but the little imp of jealousy that stirs my heart to despise him.

Perhaps Jellal really is a great person.

Perhaps Jellal is really a person who would care for Erza. He fought the darkness that overtook his heart and spared her life after all. And it is evident that she still feels for him. She still has feelings for him.

**End Of Gray's P.O.V**

Gray studied the figure of the armour mage once more before approaching her…

"Why are you always alone?" he questioned that age old question once again. "I thought all those troubles were behind you now." He added, trying to make his voice sound strong and sturdy.

She wiped her tears away as she stood up… "I think we should head back now." She said, not answering her question.

He sighed. He should have figured that she would always act tough… "You know... You don't have to pretend…Not to me anyway. Although, you can pretend in front of Natsu cause he'll worry otherwise."

She smiled gratefully. "Thank you Gray… but I need to pretend…I need to keep practicing my pretense."

"Why is that?" he questioned genuinely surprised.

"Because…I need to perfect my façade…. Because no matter how convincingly I fake my emotions, a certain person always sees right through them."

Gray wished desperately that she meant him by that…But deep in his heart he knew that she was referring to a certain blue-haired mage with a red tattoo on his face.

"Do you mean Jellal by **'certain person'**?" he asked softly, his voice not betraying any emotion.

"That's right." Answered Erza, looking at the ground… She then smiled at Gray. "I have to…No; I must practice lying…Because no matter how much I wish to, I cannot tell him that I love him straight to his face. So I must lie and hope that he will fall for it."

"But why should you hide it though?…" Gray's heart shattered into pieces as he heard that she love Jellal. But he wanted her to be happy. He wished to rid Erza's face of her tears. "There is no reason to…"

"No….I…. just can't bring myself to tell him…. That is just one of my weaknesses."

"You are wrong." Gray said. "THAT is your **only **weakness….Jellal, he **is** your only weakness."

"I guess you have point." She said with a small little laugh as she brushed aside one more tear.

As they walked through the guild door Gray came to a very heart-breaking conclusion.

Jellal would still be burned deeply in her heart no matter how much time passed. Her reminiscences of him would be etched into her consciousness into a **permanent memory** that would remain eternally and never fade.

And no matter how much he tried, Gray knew that he could not take Jellal's place.

Gray had long interpreted Erza's armour as a shield to protect her heart from further getting hurt…Yet he couldn't have been more mistaken.

Her armour wasn't to prevent her heart from being injured… But it was to preserve her heart. The armour served one sole purpose and that was to preserve her heart for Jellal and Jellal alone- no exceptions.

It wasn't Gray's to take...Her heart was a commodity that would be Jellal's as long as she breathed, irrespective of whether she voiced her feelings or not.

**Ps- Tell me your favourite song in the anime [if you are the follower of the anime]**

**Mine is ft. by funkiest. You know, the third opening and Kimi ga iru kara by Mikuni Shimokawa [the fourth ending].**

**Okay so that fiction was kind of a new interpretation of Erza's armour.**

**I was all in for the Erza x Gray pairing but then Erza x Jellal came along. And I must confess, the whole Erza x Jellal thing is very emotional and amazing…**

**So this was and Erza x Jellal fic… I debated on whether or not to make this Erza x Gray cause well it could be one of those angst of sad ones…but hey. Erza likes Jellal, so Jellal it is.**

**So tell me how it is okay?**

**REVIEW please. **


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